Roberto Mancini confident of completing Sergio Agüero signing

Manchester City boss Roberto Mancini has told of his hopes that a deal for the 23 year old Argentinian could be finalised in the next few days adding yet more quality to the Citizens' attack after last year's high profile signings of Mario Balotelli and Edin Dzeko.

Mancini first confirmed his interest in the Atlético Madrid forward in the wake of Corinthians having a bid accepted for Carlos Tevez with Mancini touting Aguero as a possible replacement for the outgoing player. The Brazilian transfer window has reached it's deadline and Tevez remains at Man City for the moment but the club's pursuit of Aguero no longer seems to be reliant on the transfer of Tevez. Aguero himself has told the Spanish press that he is keen to move away from Atlético and a move to Eastlands would certainly be an attractive proposition for him with City having qualified to play in the Champions League this season.

"I think that maybe in four or five days, before the next game, I think that in this week maybe we can close. Maybe," Mancini said.

He went on to insist that he wants to speak to him first before concluding the deal to "know his opinion" of playing in Manchester, which I would suggest is to assess whether Aguero would be happy in the knowledge that he may not necessarily play every game considering the competition that he would face, including the likes of Balotelli, Dzeko, Adebayor and Tevez (if he stays.) If Mancini does manage to sign Aguero in the next week or so then it is possible that he could feature in the charity shield match against Manchester United on 7th August. However, this could depend on his condition and match fitness after recently featuring for Argentina at the Copa America.

Jose Enrique move seems imminent

Jose Enrique has launched a scathing attack on his current club Newcastle criticizing the North East club's transfer policy and lack of ambition. The Spanish left back posted his feelings on his Twitter and made them abundantly clear as he bemoaned the departures of Andy Carrol and Kevin Nolan from the club, both of whom were major influences in Newcastle's Premier League campaign last season.

Enrique posted, "They lie all the time. But is no for money is because they don’t want spend in the club and bring quality players that’s why everybody go.” He did however mention that he loved the fans of the club and thanked them for supporting him which would seem like a last farewell to the fans and an indication that they may have seen him for the last time in the black and white stripes of Newcastle United.

The comments come at a time when it is expected that the Spanish left back himself will be sold by the club following reported interest from Liverpool and Arsenal, the latter having recently sold Gael Clichy to Manchester City and seeing Jose Enrique as the ideal replacement. The rant will only have served to intensify the transfer speculation surrounding the player as it seems unlikely that a player would release such an angry attack on a club they were intending to stay with. Newcastle boss Alan Pardew has been trying to entice Enrique into signing a new contract but thus far has had no success and in his attack Enrique claims that this is because the wage offer was "the money I have already."

Following this outburst it would appear that a move for Jose Enrique is moving ever closer and it seems only a matter of time until Newcastle will be forced to accept an offer while they can still get a price for him as the Spaniard's current deal runs out in a years time.

The Top 5 English Right-Backs and their Rank Order

Ever since Gary Neville decided to retire from international football the right side of defence has proved to be a weakness in the otherwise solid (on paper) England defence. Micah Richards has recently been moaning about not getting a regular place in the England side, so in response here is an assessment of English right-backs and what their rank order should be in the England team.

5) Tony Hibbert - Yes. I'm not joking. Despite all the stick he gets about his performances, Tony Hibbert is in fact a quality defender. Ok, so he may not be particularly fast or strong and his attacking credentials may be non-existent but his timing of the tackle and particularly the slide tackle is possibly the best on this list. People immediately disregard Hibbert simply because he is a very defensive full back but when he plays it often gives the player in front of him a lot more attacking freedom as they know they will not have to track back to cover for their right back. Unfortunately, I think he will probably never shake the reputation he has but I hope for his sake that one day he does manage to score and inevitably cause the Everton fans to riot.

4) Kyle Walker - The young Spurs full back has gone from strength to strength recently and has in fact been named in the England squad twice already without making an appearance. This young man certainly has potential and seems to have a good grasp of the required balance between attack and defence. His performances in the recent Euro 2011 under 21 tournament in Denmark were outstanding and despite England's poor overall showing Walker was still named in the Team of the Tournament. Right now, Walker is still too inexperienced at the top level to be considered for England's first choice right back having only played 18 games in the Premier League. Give it a few years of first team action and Kyle Walker could be much higher up this list than he is now.

3) Micah Richards - Despite Richards' "bemusement" at his position within the England set up, I would have to place him as low as number 3 on the list. People who have watched Richards down the years will know that he is hardly a great defender and the main problem with English right backs at the moment is that they can't defend. Glen Johnson holds the current England right back slot and Micah Richards' defending is not drastically better (if at all) than Johnson's whereas Johnson is a better attacker. Richards is by no means a poor player, he is a very physical presence with both speed and strength and has a great deal of determination and willingness to run but his defensive attributes are simply not up to scratch when it comes to the international stage.

2) Glen Johnson - Johnson is the current England right back having amassed a total of 34 caps for his country but time and time again his defensive capabilities are called into question. The widespread belief is that he is a poor defender but a good attacker and that is absolutely spot on. He is fast, strong, a good dribbler, a good crosser and can shoot with both feet making him an excellent right midfielder and a good football player. However, his ability in the tackling department is poor and has even led to him being replaced in the right back slot at Liverpool where next season it is likely that he will be forced into playing left back.

1) Martin Kelly - And it was Martin Kelly who replaced him at right back in the Liverpool side. Seemingly that would indicate that he is a better player than Johnson in that position and it's true that he is. He is (like Johnson) fast and strong but unlike Johnson he is good in the air using his 6 foot 3 inch frame to his advantage. He can also attack and defend equally as well as the other and in his debut season at Liverpool could often be seen gallivanting down the wing in his eagerness to be involved. What's more, he is an extremely difficult figure for opposition wingers to create space against and is still just 21 years of age. He has his best years ahead of him and already looks a quality player. Capello, if you're reading this then heed my words, give this boy a cap.

Palermo Claim Javier Pastore is a Wanted Man

Argentine sensation Javier Pastore is the subject of several bids from some of Europe's top clubs if you believe Palermo president Maurizio Zamparini. Zamparini has told the public that Chelsea, Manchester City and Roma are all battling for the signature of the talented midfielder but claims that he is looking to sell for a price of €50million (roughly £44million). It seems unlikely that any of these teams will pay quite this sum of money for the player so lets take a look at why Zamparini values his man so highly.


Pastore signed for Palermo on 11 July 2009 for about £5 million. In his first season for them he played 34 games in Serie A scoring 3 goals and getting 5 assists. Whilst these stats might not seems particularly impressive, he managed to win the Serie A Young Footballer of the Year award indicating that the stats about this boy may not tell the whole story. In the 2010-11 season he manged to achieve a more impressive total from the 34 games he played bagging 11 goals and 4 assists over the course of the season and also managing 2 goals and 1 assist in 3 games in the cup helping Palermo to finish as runners up in the competition. Pastore has also been recognised by his country and has represented Argentina 10 times which is no mean feat at the age of just 22 when he is competing for positions against the likes of Angel Di Maria.


The stats and acclaim show that Pastore seems to be a quality player but they also show that Zamparini is way off in his estimations of the price that he can get for him. The Palermo President has actually claimed that a club has met the asking price for Pastore but I would suggest that this is simply a ploy to entice the other interested managers to increase their bids for the player.

Chelsea are considered the front runners to sign the Argentine by the Italian press despite the fact that Pastore himself has said that he does not have a desire to leave Italy. However, it seems as though Pastore won't be going anywhere unless Zamparini is willing to lower his expectancies regarding his price as Pastore's stats show that he is a quality player but certainly not one that it would be worth spending £44million but with Abramovic and Sheikh Mansour's riches in the mix I suppose anything could happen.

                  






      

Romelu Lukaku: The New Drogba or the next Sinama Pongolle

Chelsea and Arsenal transfer target Romelu Lukaku has been attracting a lot of attention recently as many fans are largely unaware of his ability seeing as he plays in the Belgian League with Anderlecht. There is certainly a lot of hype surrounding his potential as a football player with many claiming that he is a younger version of Didier Drogba but as we all know with youth players, many of them do not acheive their potential. Take Florent Sinama Pongolle for instance, he top scored at the 2001 under 17 world championship and won player of the tournament and then moved to Liverpool where for a long time rival fans could gleefully refer to him as one-goal Pongolle. Lukaku could go either way but to make a judgement we need to see some facts.

 The big Belgian's goal record for the youth teams he played in is undeniably outstanding. Between the ages of 11 and 13 he played for Lierse SK who were in the Belgian Pro League at the time and managed to bag an impressive 121 goals in 68 games. Once Lierse SK were relegated in 2006 he was signed for Anderlecht and in the next 3 years scored 131 goals in 93 games for the youth teams. These figures are undoubtedly excellent but it is the goals record at senior level that is more important. Lukaku broke into the Anderlecht first team at the tender age of just 16 and played a total of 33 league games bagging 15 goals and consequently being awarded the personal accolade of Belgian Pro League top scorer. Now, I know that the Belgian league might not be the highest quality league in the world but that is undeniably impressive for a 16 year old playing his first season is senior football. Last season Lukaku was awarded the Belgian Ebony Shoe for the best African player (or player of African origin) in the league.

The stats and awards cannot lie and Romelu Lukaku has had a glittering career thus far. Who can say whether he will cut it in the Premier League amongst some of the best players in the world but I sincerely hope that we get to find out as the potential for this man is limitless.

The Charles N'Zogbia Situation

As it stands, things aren’t looking too good for 25 year old Frenchman Charles N’Zogbia. The winger has made it abundantly clear  to the Wigan board of his intentions to leave the DW stadium this summer and things seemed to be going well for him as several good Premier league clubs were reported to be interested in securing his services. However, the player now seems to be stuck in limbo as each of the clubs that want him have hit a stumbling block.

Aston Villa appeared to be the front runners in the race to sign N’Zogbia but have recently had a reported £9 million bid knocked back by chairman Dave Whelan. Villa certainly have the money available to sign N’Zogbia having sold both of their first team wingers from the 2010/11 season in Stewart Downing and Ashley Young bringing in somewhere in the region of £40m. Despite this, the board is not willing to pay the £60k per week that N’Zogbia is demanding for wages.

Dave Whelan has been quoted as saying, “There are two others (clubs) interested. I can’t name them as it would be disrespectful but there is one club that are mad, mad keen to sign him. They just need to find the finance.” I can be fairly confident in suggesting that this club he is referring to is Everton who have been strongly linked with the winger since the start of the summer but the widespread belief is that David Moyes will need to sell players in order to bring in fresh talent. However, Moyes has also made it clear that he will not be selling any of his first team stars which he has backed up by rejecting Arsene Wenger’s £10 million bid for strong centre back Phil Jagielka. Everton will have to find buyers for their out of favour players such as Joseph Yobo and Aiyegbeni Yakubu if they are to stand any chance of raising the funds to secure N’Zogbia’s signing.

In the meantime, it seems that the temperamental Frenchman is going to have to wait it out at Wigan where he is clearly frustrated and if neither of the two clubs mentioned above change their stance then he may face an unhappy season in front of the Wigan fans once the season begins on the 13th August at home to Norwich.